No Polo for US, But VW Prepared Says Exec

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Hoping that the compact Volkswagen Polo will head to the United States anytime soon? Don’t hold your breath, as the German automaker is focusing on its Jetta and Golf models and has no immediate plans to bring a Polo to the American market. But it is ready should market demand change says Volkswagen’s VP of marketing, Rainer Michel.

In a recent interview, Michel commented that the compact market segment “is not really stable yet”, an odd remark considering nearly every other automaker in North America has a sub-compact offering.

Michel did elaborate, however, by saying that the automaker is prepared if they wanted to get a product out to market very fast. With its new MQB architecture, an American-spec Polo could be developed if the automaker finds it beneficial. For now, Volkswagen is making sure its Jetta and Golf models get the attention they need to succeed.

For now, it appears that Volkswagen believes the Golf is as compact as Americans want.

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A huge mistake in my opinion. Look at all the Fits, Yaris’s and others on the road. I’ll bet a good percentage of them would choose the VW Polo over those cars if it were an option, and it would give these customers an exposure to VW products they otherwise wouldn’t get. Just like not bringing the Scirocco here, denying us the Polo is just plain near-sighted on VW’s part.

Rusty

What a stupid, dumb, and ignorant philosophy. I’ve driven a stickshift Polo – in Germany no less – nearly 70 miles to the gallon – and have been waiting and reading all the pie-in-the-sky articles about the Polo coming to the U.S.

Honda Fit, here I come.

Jamisonjon

Dang it. I too saw the Polo in Germany during the summer of 2010, I thought for sure a TDI and GTI version would do well here. As of last fall, VW had plans to start building about 90k Polos in Mexico per year. I’m not sure when they changed their mind, but the Polo is no longer listed on the production forecast database I see as an automotive supplier. However, they also weren’t planning on building a Golf here last fall, so I guess they decided that’s small enough for us. My hope is that they bring the price of the Golf down a bit by building it in North America rather than importing it. The VW370 Golf program is scheduled to start production in Puebla July 2014. A new Jetta wagon comes 5 months later. I guess that’s all the VW TDI goodness we are going to see here. And don’t get me started on the Touran, I’d give up certain body parts to get one of those over here.

Pvalkov

Rusty, it is not the vw, it is the US government that creates the problem. Thats why we do not see all these cars here.

Jamisonjon

No question the USA is the hardest country in the world to get government approval to sell a car. But I think VW deciding to build the Golf here instead of the Polo is just simple market analysis. They believe they’ll have an easier time selling ~90k Golfs here per year instead of Polos. And they also probably think they can sell the Golfs at a higher price, probably at a higher margin. Sadly, auto companies are in business to make money first, and their marketing and accounting people decided Golf was the way to go.

George

This is a free country? – not! US government (Evil Empire) is run by US car manufacturers afraid of being blindsided by VW’s 70 mpg Polo! Obama talks about 40 mpg cars but europe has a whole bunch of cars running at 40 and over. I feel like sneaking a Polo into this country somehow!!??

Jamisonjon

It seems like a diesel Polo would be a definite winner here, purely for the mpg factor. I wonder if it doesn’t meet USA emissions and crash standards? That’s a huge part of it all… VW would have to spend millions to get the car approved for USA emissions and crash testing, and they would only sell maybe ~50k cars per year. The payback just isn’t there. In the end, VW wants to do what’s best for their bottom line. Nevermind that Americans prefer huge cars compared to the rest of the world.

I too have thought about how can I sneak one into the country. Best bet might be to get one into Canada somehow, then into the USA. How you get it registered and insured in the USA… no idea.

Bob Sullebarger

I agree this is a mistake, although I understand their thinking. I would buy one.

Dzl Bug

I would love a nice little Polo GTD to replace my current 1.9 tdi beetle. Why wont they build this for the us market?? how about my Bluesport Roadster with a TDI???? Amarok TDI for USA???

SC

I’m American, and I reeeaaallly like the Polo and would buy one if it was available here!

cheongyei

I agree. Much nicer than the Mazda 2, Fiesta, Sonic, Accent, or Rio.

Guest

I just saw a VW polo yesterday on I-5 going from OC to LA near Irvine around jeffery rd exit. since then I am searching for POLO but every where it says no Polo for USA. How did that guy get polo in USA?

Rohan DMello

I just saw a VW polo yesterday on I-5 going from OC to LA near Irvine around jeffery rd exit. since then I am searching for POLO but every where it says no Polo for USA. How did that guy get polo in USA? I just want to know because I will be the first buyer.

Colum Wood

Did you get any pictures of it and did it have regular plates? It could be a car VW is testing in the US. There are other ways to get cars like this over. For example, government diplomats can bring in pretty much any car they want.

Jamisonjon

What state or type was the plate? Regular CA passenger plate? My guess, it was either from Mexico or had a MFG plate if it was a VW test vehicle. Still a shame that the Polo isn’t coming here, but I am excited about the new Mexico-built Golf coming next year. That vehicle (program name VW370 for hatchback, VW372 for wagon) is already selling in Europe, very nice ride. Hoping for an AWD TDI wagon with manual trans for the USA!

Colum Wood

You’re right. They do sell the Polo in Mexico. I’ve heard reports of seeing Amarok pickup models in Arizona up from Mexico.

Juvenal451

No market? I would buy one in a second.

Seattle206

“Golf is as compact as Americans want it” the new golf is almost as big as the STi we need the polo. Not to mention the gas prices here, a little more compact wouldn’t hurt the wallet too much.

Fred

I agree I have had VW’s for over 30 years and what I would really like is jsut a small 1 or 2 person commuter period

Fred

Having looked over the site a little more it looks like everyone gave up on the idea over a year ago…well vw never did get in a hurry…

Fred

I saw the pickup in the UK and Europe I liked it and would also purchase but it would have to come to North America first….won’t hold my breath

mike

the us govt tax is based per gallon, they are never going to allow cars that get 70mpg in this country… it would be classified as “a loss of revenue.”

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